VERBAL ANALYSIS SKILLS:

(also from Halpern, 1996)

1.Recognize use of biased, emotionally charged language (CT#1)

2. Misuse of definitions, reification, euphemism, and bureacratese. (CT#2)

3. Framing with leading questions.

Example: Would you prefer the $5 or the $10 option? Have you stopped beating your wife.

4. Use of negation.

Hard to think of the negation of something without first imagining that it is true. Ex:

Tabloids: We have found no convincing evidence that Princess Diana was murdered.

Example of how this can backfire:

Nixon: I am not a crook.

5. Note the usefulness and limitations of analogies and metaphors. All metaphors limp.

(CT#7)

6. Use questioning and explaining as a skill for text comprehension.

Ask: What's the main point here? What are the supporting points? Try to summarize and explain what is being communicated. If you can't, this is a cue to go back and read more closely. Along with underlining, write in the margins -- hold a dialogue with the author.